BAE to get early access to Intel tech

The result of the agreement is that BAE Systems will be able develop and more quickly field next-generation defense applications based on Intel’s technology. While commercial off-the-shelf semiconductor technology has increasingly been incorporated into U.S. defense applications, military-grade technology requires domestically developed custom capabilities that go beyond commercially available technology. To date, this development lag of customising commercial technology has resulted in significant time gaps between chip-level technology and defense applications being fielded. “We are excited to extend our existing relationship with BAE Systems and look forward to working with them to protect national security, critical infrastructure, and vital information,” says Frank Ferrante, senior director of Military Aerospace and Defense Division at Intel in a press release. “Early access to Intel’s developing technology can speed the timetable of producing defense applications and maintain our country’s technological edge,” adds Chris Rappa, director at BAE Systems’ FAST Labs. “Closing the development gap – potentially by years in some cases – will deliver a critical advantage to our country.” This announcement comes on the heels of other new collaborations between BAE Systems and Intel, including on Intel’s recently launched Field Programmable Gate Array technology and on the SHIP-Digital program, which will extend Intel’s wideband radio frequency signal processing platform to the most size, weight, and power-constrained defense applications.